Luxembourg Design Report 2019-2021
- Action Plan: Luxembourg Action Plan 2019-2021
- Dates Under Review: 2019-2021
- Report Publication Year: 2021
- Researcher: Maria Soledad Gattoni
Luxembourg’s first action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... includes commitments on improving the transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and openness of public administration, open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici..., and activities related to climate change. While most commitments reflect existing initiatives, several civil society proposals are included. Moving forward, Luxembourg could establish a formal multistakeholder forum to oversee the co-creation of the next action plan. Luxembourg could also consider commitments to strengthen whistleblower protection and enforce access to information legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r....
Table 1. At a glance
Participating since: 2016 Action plan development Action plan design Commitments |
The Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) is a global partnership that brings together government reformers and civil society leaders to create action plans that make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... monitors all action plans to ensure governments follow through on commitments. Luxembourg joined OGP in 2016. This report evaluates the design of Luxembourg’s first action plan.
General overview of action plan
Luxembourg enters its first action plan with strong legal frameworks around preventing corruption and protecting political rights and civil liberties. The first action plan includes commitments on open data and open administration, as well as supporting platforms for human rightsAn essential part of open government includes protecting the sacred freedoms and rights of all citizens, including the most vulnerable groups, and holding those who violate human rights accountable. T.... In 2019, there was a leadership change and responsibility for OGP activities passed from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE) to the Ministry of State.
The co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... for the first action plan involved several consultation workshops organized by the MAEE, where participants discussed commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... proposals. The MAEE postponed the co-creation process due to national electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... in October 2018 in order to assure political ownership of the action plan. Moving forward, the IRM researcher recommends establishing a formal multistakeholder forum to oversee the co-creation of the next action plan and developing an online repositoryAccess to relevant information is essential for enabling participation and ensuring accountability throughout the OGP process. An OGP repository is an online centralized website, webpage, platform or ... to better document consultation meetings and stakeholder proposals.
Luxembourg’s first action plan includes commitments on open public administration, open data, and access to information on activities related to climate change. While most of the commitments represent existing government activities, two commitments were proposed by civil society organizations (CSOs): the creation of a CivicTech hub (Commitment 5) and supporting a platform for human right defenders (Commitment 6).
Table 2. Noteworthy commitments
Commitment description | Moving forward | Status at the end of implementation cycle |
Commitment 5: Exploring the establishment of a European CivicTech centre
Establish a European CivicTech hub to bring citizens and tech initiatives closer to the government and public institutions. |
The CivicTech hub aims to bring citizens and tech-related initiatives closer to the government and public institutions. Activities include searching for private and public sponsors to create the hub, establishing a digital platform, and accompanying civic startups strategies. Moving forward, the IRM researcher recommends ensuring government involvement in the creation of the CivicTech hub and linking the hub’s work to government policy and practices. | Note: this will be assessed at the end of the action plan cycle. |
Commitment 6: Platform for civil society and human rights defenders
Support human rights defenders by building capacity and providing legal assistance through an online platform. |
This commitment involves organising national consultations on human rights and developing strategies to combat stigmatisation and prevent genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... discrimination. Moving forward, the government could hold regular high-level meetings through the online platform to shape the government’s annual priorities supporting human rights. | Note: this will be assessed at the end of the action plan cycle. |
Recommendations
IRM recommendations aim to inform the development of the next action plan and guide implementation of the current action plan. Please refer to Section V: General Recommendations for more details on each of the below recommendations.
Table 3. Five KEY IRM recommendations
Establish a multistakeholder forum to oversee the OGP process |
Ensure future commitments include measurable outcomes that add value even if they build on pre-existing activities |
Consider including commitments that foster civic participation, prioritising citizen initiatives |
Consider including commitments that foster public accountabilityAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, public accountability occurs when ”rules, regulations, and mechanisms in place call upon government actors to justify their actions, act upon criticisms ... More, with a focus on strengthening whistleblower protection |
Ensure adequate implementation of the access to information law and strengthen CSO monitoring of enforcement |
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